HOW MUCH MONEY WILL YOU NEED?
Knowing how much money you'll need when you go backpacking in Australia depends on a lot of things, including how long you're going for, whether you're going to be working in Australia, how much travelling around Australia you want to do, what standard of accommodation you want to stay in and how much you like to go out and eat, drink and party.
Australia is a pretty expensive place, however the good news is that if you're going to be working in Oz then the wages are excellent! Minimum wage is now over AUD $20 an hour.
And it is possible to travel on a fairly low budget, you might just need to get used to eating in and drinking lots of boxed wine, or goon as it's called in Oz.
Below is a useful guide to help you figure out how much money you'll need.
FLIGHT, VISA AND
TRAVEL INSURANCE
Depending on where you're flying to Australia from a return flight should cost you around $1500-$2000. A tourist visa is only $20 and a Working Holiday Visa is $495. Travel Insurance will cost you around $100 for a month, $200 for 3 months, $300 for 6 months and around $500 for a year.
ACCOMMODATION
Accommodation prices can vary massively, depending on the standard and also on the location and the time of year. It's always more expensive in the big cities and during public and school holidays or during special events, such as in Sydney over New Year.
The cheapest (and most popular and most fun) type of accommodation to stay in is backpacker hostels. Staying in a dorm (shared) room is always much cheaper than a private room.
Hostels range from around $15 a night up to around $40 a night, but most cost between $20 and $30 a night.
TRAVEL AND TOURS
With so many incredible places to go and things to do in Australia you're going to want to experience as much as you can in the time you're there.
With a few thousand dollars you'll be able to travel around Australia and have lots of amazing experiences.
Here's our list of some of the best things to do in Australia.
And to work out roughly how much money you will need to do all the things you want just check out our travel costs guide.
LIVING EXPENSES
The cost of living in Australia is pretty high, especially in the big cities. However wages are excellent, with minimum wage being over $20 an hour!
If you're eating out every day and going out drinking every night you'll burn through your cash extremely quickly!
Whereas if you buy groceries and cook meals with your friends at the hostel and limit your nights out drinking to once or twice a week then you'll be ok.
By doing this you should be able to live comfortably on around $100-200 a week, excluding the cost of your accommodation.
HOW MUCH MONEY
WILL YOU EARN?
Lots! Wages in Australia are excellent. Even the most low-skilled jobs pay over $20 an hour. Most admin, office and retail jobs pay around $20-25 an hour. Hospitality jobs usually pay $20-30 an hour and labouring and construction work pays around $30-40 an hour.
Most people that go backpacking in Australia will do some travelling, then work along the way to top up their savings, then do more travelling.
Check out our Work in Oz page for a guide about working in Australia.
